Photo/Illutration Chairperson of the Korea Communications Standards Commission (KCSC) Ryu Hee-Lim presides over an urgent meeting on digital sex crimes after media reported that sexually explicit deepfake images and videos of South Korean women were often found in Telegram chatrooms, in Seoul, South Korea, August 28, 2024. (Yonhap/via REUTERS)

SEOUL--South Korean authorities said on Wednesday they plan to ask Telegram and other social media platforms to more actively help with the deletion and blocking of sexually explicit deepfake content, part of measures aimed at tackling the growing problem.

The steps come amid public and political outrage after several domestic media outlets reported that sexually explicit deepfake images and videos of South Korean women were often found in Telegram chatrooms.

A 24-hour hotline for victims will also be set up and the number of regulatory personnel monitoring digital sex crimes will be doubled from the current number of 70, the Korea Communications Standards Commission said.

The Korean National Police Agency also said it will make a seven-month push to crack down on online sex crimes.

The media watchdog plans to set up a consultative body to enhance communication with social media firms about deleting and blocking sexual deepfake content, its chairman, Ryu Hee-lim, told a meeting on the issue.

For companies that don’t have offices in South Korea, it wants to set up a face-to-face channel for regular consultation.

“Production, possession and distribution of deepfake sex crime videos are a serious crime that destroys the individual dignity and personal rights,” Ryu said.

In addition to Telegram, the commission said it would be seeking cooperation from X as well as Meta’s Facebook and Instagram and Google’s YouTube. None of the companies responded to Reuters request for comment.

Criticism of Telegram in South Korea has coincided with the arrest of Pavel Durov, Telegram’s Russian-born founder, on the weekend - part of a French probe into child pornography, drug trafficking and fraud on the encrypted messaging app.

The number of deepfake sex crime cases in South Korea has surged from 156 in 2021 when data was first collated to 297 so far this year, with most of the perpetrators being teenagers, according to police data.

The victims are usually female and include school students as well as female soldiers in South Korea’s military.

South Koreans have made more than 6,400 requests for help from the Korea Communications Standards Commission to have sexually explicit deepfake content taken down this year. That compares with nearly 7,200 cases last year in which the commission agreed to help take down the content.

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